Installing LDF on Linux (Fedora/RHEL/CentOS)

December 26, 2025 · View on GitHub

For: Complete beginners and experienced users Time: 30-45 minutes What you'll install: Python 3.10+, pip, VS Code, Git, LDF Distributions: Fedora 36+, RHEL 9+, CentOS Stream 9+, Rocky Linux 9+, AlmaLinux 9+

What You'll Need

Before starting:

  • Fedora 36 or later, OR RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/AlmaLinux 9 or later
  • sudo access (administrator privileges)
  • Internet connection
  • About 2 GB of free disk space

Step 1: Install Python 3.10 or Later

Check if Python is Already Installed

Open Terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T or from Activities menu), then type:

python3 --version

If you see Python 3.10.0 or higher (like 3.11.5, 3.12.1):

  • ✅ Python is already installed! Skip to "Install pip" below.

If you see Python 3.9.x or lower, OR "command not found":

  • Continue below to install Python.

Install Python 3.10+

Fedora 38+ / RHEL 9+ (Python 3.11+ included):

sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip python3-devel -y

Fedora 36-37 (Python 3.10+ included):

sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip python3-devel -y

RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 (Need Python 3.11 module):

# Enable Python 3.11 module
sudo dnf module enable python311 -y
sudo dnf install python3.11 python3.11-pip python3.11-devel -y

# Set as default python3
sudo alternatives --set python3 /usr/bin/python3.11

Verify Installation

python3 --version

Expected output:

Python 3.11.5

Install pip (if not already installed)

sudo dnf install python3-pip -y

Verify pip:

pip3 --version

Expected output:

pip 23.0.1 from /usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pip (python 3.11)

What is VS Code? A free code editor from Microsoft. Not required, but makes editing LDF specs much easier.

  1. Add Microsoft repository:

    # Import Microsoft GPG key
sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc

# Add VS Code repository
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[code]\nname=Visual Studio Code\nbaseurl=https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/vscode\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc" > /etc/yum.repos.d/vscode.repo'

  2. Install VS Code:

    # Update cache and install
sudo dnf check-update
sudo dnf install code -y

  3. Verify:

    code --version

    Expected output:

    1.85.0
5c3e652f63e798a5ac2f31ffd0d863669328dc4c
x64

Option B: Install via Flatpak (Alternative)

flatpak install flathub com.visualstudio.code -y

Note: Flatpak version runs in a sandbox and may have different file access permissions.

Step 3: Install Git

What is Git? Version control software. Required if you want to clone LDF examples or track changes to your code.

Check if Git is Already Installed

git --version

If you see git version 2.x.x:

  • ✅ Git is already installed! Skip to Step 4.

If you see "command not found":

  • Continue below.

Install Git

sudo dnf install git -y

Verify:

git --version

Expected output:

git version 2.39.1

Step 4: Install LDF

Now that Python and pip are installed, installing LDF is simple.

Basic Installation

pip3 install --user ldf

What's happening?

  • pip3 is Python's package manager
  • --user installs for your user only (no sudo needed)
  • install ldf downloads and installs the LDF CLI tool
  • This takes about 30 seconds

Expected output:

Collecting ldf
  Downloading ldf-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl (150 kB)
     ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 150.0/150.0 kB 2.5 MB/s eta 0:00:00
Collecting click>=8.0.0
  Using cached click-8.1.7-py3-none-any.whl (97 kB)
[... more packages ...]
Installing collected packages: click, pyyaml, rich, jinja2, questionary, ldf
Successfully installed click-8.1.7 jinja2-3.1.2 ldf-1.0.0 pyyaml-6.0.1 questionary-2.0.1 rich-13.7.0

Add LDF to PATH

After installing with --user, add ~/.local/bin to your PATH:

# Add to PATH
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Verify LDF Installation

ldf --version

Expected output:

ldf version 1.0.0

✅ Success! LDF is installed and ready to use.

Optional: Install LDF Extras

Install MCP Servers (for AI assistant integration):

pip3 install --user ldf[mcp]

Install Automation Features (for ChatGPT/Gemini API audits):

pip3 install --user ldf[automation]

Install S3 Support (for AWS S3 coverage uploads):

pip3 install --user ldf[s3]

Install All Extras:

pip3 install --user ldf[mcp,automation,s3]

Step 5: Verify Everything Works

ldf doctor

Expected output:

LDF Installation Health Check
=============================

Python version: 3.11.5 ✓
pip version: 23.0.1 ✓
LDF version: 1.0.0 ✓

Optional components:
  MCP servers: Not installed
  Automation: Not installed
  S3 support: Not installed

All core components are working correctly!

Troubleshooting

Issue: "pip3: command not found"

Cause: pip wasn't installed.

Solution:

sudo dnf install python3-pip -y

Issue: "ldf: command not found" after installation

Cause: ~/.local/bin not in PATH.

Solution:

  1. Add to PATH:

    echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

  2. Verify:

    ldf --version

Issue: Permission denied when running pip3 install

Cause: Trying to install system-wide without sudo or --user flag.

Solution 1 - Install for current user only (recommended):

pip3 install --user ldf

Solution 2 - Install system-wide (not recommended):

sudo pip3 install ldf

Note: Using --user is safer and doesn't require sudo.

Issue: Python version too old

Cause: Using RHEL 8 or older Fedora with Python 3.9 or earlier.

Solution for RHEL 8:

# Enable Python 3.11 module
sudo dnf module list python3*
sudo dnf module enable python311 -y
sudo dnf install python3.11 python3.11-pip -y

# Set as default
sudo alternatives --set python3 /usr/bin/python3.11

Solution for older Fedora: Upgrade to Fedora 36+ which includes Python 3.10+.

Issue: SELinux blocks VS Code or Git operations

Error message:

Permission denied (SELinux)

Solution:

  1. Check SELinux status:

    getenforce

  2. If Enforcing and causing issues, temporarily set to Permissive:

    sudo setenforce 0

  3. For permanent fix, create proper SELinux policies or:

    sudo setsebool -P allow_execmem 1

Note: Disabling SELinux is not recommended for production systems.

Issue: Firewall blocks package downloads

Cause: Firewall blocking HTTP/HTTPS connections.

Solution:

  1. Check firewall status:

    sudo firewall-cmd --state

  2. If active, ensure HTTP/HTTPS allowed:

    sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Next Steps

Now that LDF is installed:

  1. Complete Beginners: Continue to Your First LDF Spec
  2. Experienced Users: Jump to 5-Minute Quickstart
  3. Need Help?: See Troubleshooting Guide

Summary of What You Installed

ToolPurposeRequired?
Python 3.10+Run LDF and Python-based tools✅ Required
pipInstall Python packages✅ Required
VS CodeEdit LDF spec files⭐ Recommended
GitVersion control, clone examples⭐ Recommended
LDFThe LDF framework itself✅ Required

Total disk space used: ~1.5 GB

Platform-Specific Notes

Fedora Workstation 40

  • Python 3.12 included by default
  • GNOME desktop with Wayland
  • All commands above work without modifications

Fedora 39

  • Python 3.12 included
  • SELinux Enforcing by default

Fedora 38

  • Python 3.11 included
  • Use dnf for all package operations

RHEL 9 / CentOS Stream 9 / Rocky Linux 9 / AlmaLinux 9

  • Python 3.9 by default, use module system for 3.11+
  • SELinux Enforcing by default
  • May need Red Hat subscription for some packages (RHEL only)

RHEL 8 / CentOS 8 / Rocky Linux 8 / AlmaLinux 8

  • Python 3.6 by default
  • Must enable python311 module
  • Use dnf module enable python311

Package Manager Notes

  • dnf is the modern package manager (Fedora 22+, RHEL 8+)
  • yum is legacy but still works (RHEL 7, CentOS 7)
  • Commands are mostly interchangeable: dnf ↔ yum